Cairns Airport figures show domestic visitation has surpassed pre-pandemic levels

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Almost a million passengers passed through Cairns Airport over the past three months in a sign of strong recovery in the tourism sector following COVID-19 border closures.

342,000 travellers came through the domestic terminal in both April and June, while the May figure was slightly lower at 302,000.

The three-month total is higher than the same period in pre-pandemic 2019 by about 10,000 passengers.

For June 2022, there was a rise of 34 per cent compared with June 2021 and a 24 per cent hike for the rolling 12-month period.

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Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said there was very strong visitation in waves over the school holidays, which extended into July.

“We were fortunate this year to have a four-week period of school holidays for the eastern states which has created a longer peak time for bookings,” he said.

“Tropical North Queensland has been sitting at about 85 per cent occupancy throughout the holidays and at times visitation peaked above pre-covid levels.

“It is a real testament to the industry that they have met this demand so quickly after experiencing just one-third of pre-covid levels in February.

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Cairns Airport CEO Richard Barker said 500,000 new seats of airline capacity have contributed to the strong figures.

"More planes from more places have enabled more visitors," he said.

"This period was further bolstered by our largest ever IRONMAN Cairns in June.

"We are finding that travellers who would typically go overseas for a winter break are visiting Far North Queensland instead."

The aviation sector is continuing to struggle with increased passenger numbers, leading to a string of delayed and cancelled flights as the country grapples with a third wave of COVID-19.

"Airlines have unfortunately been required to cancel some flights recently, primarily due to staff shortages related to illness," Mr Barker said.

"They are working to operate more flights and bigger aircraft when they can, and to reaccommodate travellers to other flights."

Cairns Airport also reported high demand for airport parking as well as a shortage of taxi drivers and rideshare services, leading to longer than usual wait times during peak periods. 

International visitation is also increasing.

Last month there were also almost 10,000 international passengers after flights resumed to Bali, Singapore and Papua New Guinea.

That’s an increase of more than 1000% on the same period the previous year but a mere fraction of the 47,000 people who passed through T1 during the same month in 2019.

Carrier Jetstar has announced it will be suspending the Cairns – Denpasar route for three months, citing lower demand.

Flights to Japan and New Zealand have now also resumed.